In a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the exhausting of a vacuum vessel such as a process chamber is performed by using a vacuum pump such as a turbo molecular pump.
The suction port of the vacuum pump is connected to the exhaust port of the vacuum vessel via a gate valve that opens and closes the flow path of gas.
The gate valve has not only a function of opening/closing the flow path of gas but also a function of controlling the conductance of exhausted gas by adjusting the opening degree of the flow path of gas.
As the gate valve used in the vacuum device, a slide valve has been known which changes the opening area of the flow path of gas by sliding a valve plate as proposed in Patent Document 1.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent